Mechanical dispensing means for fabric articles



Oct. 14, 1958 w. L. RUSSELL MECHANICAL DISPENSING MEANS FOR FABRICARTICLES Filed May 31, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 1.

FIG. 2.

INVENTOR.

WALTER L RUSSELL ATTORNEY FIG. 3.

Oct. 14, 1958 f w. L. RUSSELL 2,856,051

MECHANICAL DISPENSING MEANS FOR FABRIC ARTICLES Filed May 51, 1955 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

WALTER L RUSSELL ATTORNEY Oct. 14, 1958 w. RUSSELL 2,856,051

MECHANICAL DISPENSING MEANS FOR FABRIC ARTICLES Filed May 31, 1955 3Sheets-Sheet 3 W INVEN TOR. WALTER L. RUSSELL jaw/[MM v ATTORNEYMECHANICAL DISPENSING MEANS FOR FABRIC ARTICLES Walter Leo Russell,Wichita, Kans.

Application May 31, 1955, Serial No. 511990 4 Claims. (Cl. 194-4) Thisinvention relates to dispensing. In a more specific aspect, thisinvention relates to apparatus for dispensing a fabric article upon theinsertion therein of another fabric article. in a still more specificaspect, this invention relates tonew apparatus for the dispensing of aclean towel, particularly a cotton towel, upon the insertion into theapparatus of a like towel which is soiled. And, in a still more specificaspect, this invention relates to such dispensing means which areoperatable solely by mechanical means.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending. applicationSerial No. 433,339, filed June 1, 1954, now Patent No. 2,713,931, issuedJuly 26, 1955.

Apparatus is known in the prior art which will dispense fabric articles,such as cotton towels used for wiping rags in machine shops, garages,and the like. And, some of these machines do such dispensing upon theinsertion of soiled towels. The purpose of machines of this nature is toprevent loss. of towels by the company supplying. and laundering, sameand by the business owner, the general idea being to preventcarelessness on the part of the employee worker in that his soiled towelmust be deposited in the dispensing apparatus in order to obtain a cleanone. The machines of the prior art have many disadvantages. They are notvery foolproof and will not protect against insertion of articles otherthan towels to operate the mechanism to deliver a clean towel. Also,some of the apparatus can be operated to deliver more than one cleantowel tion, and the preferred specific embodiments "depicted anddisclosed therein are partially operated by electric means, namelyswitches and solenoid means, and such has proven tobe'usabl'e in manyoperations. However, towels soiled by. inflammable materials, such aspetroleum products, cause a fire hazard in these dispensing means due tothe possibility of ignition by electric arcing. And, the. new improvedmeans of my invention as disclosed and claimed in this application isoperated mechanically completely to eliminate the possibility. of firehazard. The new dispensing apparatus of my invention has been in servicefor weeks at a' time without any attention except to replenish thesupply of clean towels and remove the soiled towels for laundering. ithas indeed proven a substantial step forward in the art of dispensingfabric articles.

The new improved dispensing apparatus of my invention for fabricarticles comprises a receiving member which'has means adapted to catch afabric article that is placed in contact therewith. The apparatus has adispensing. member which has means to remove a' fabric article fior'n astack upon operation of the dispensing memasasi Patented Get. 14, 1958her. And, mechanical means are incorporated in the apparatus to operatethe receiving and dispensing member. My new apparatus has mechanicalmeans incorporated therewith which is operated by a fabric article onthe receiving member during its operation. This means is in turnmechanically adapted to provide for and control operation of thedispensing member to remove a fabric article from the stack of thosewhich are to be dispensed. The new apparatus of my invention functionsto remove a fabric article from the stack of same upon placing anotherfabric article on the receiving member and operating the apparatus.

The new dispensing apparatus of my invention has been found to be ofparticular value in dispensing clean cloth towels upon the insertiontherein of a like towel which is soiled, and operating the apparatus. Mynew apparatus has been tested in actual use in a refinery and a garageto dispense cloth wiping towels which become soiled by inflammablematerials, and hasbeen found particularly advantageous. The machine issubstantially foolproof in that it will not deliver a clean towel unlessanother towel is inserted, and it will not deliver more than one towelupon the insertion of a single soiled towel. Paper, other refuse, andthe like, cannot be used to operate my apparatus, and the employeeworkman cannot obtain more than one clean towel by retrieving the soiledtowel which he has inserted. Towels are not lost or misplaced. Greasyand oily towels are not left lying around, which is not safe, creating afire hazard. The new apparatus of my invention is easy and economical tomanufacture and it has been found simple and economical to service andmaintain. The mechanical operating. means requires little or no service.

it is an object ofthis invention to provide new dispensmg means.

It is another object of this invention to provide new apparatus fordispensing a fabric article upon insertion therein of another fabricarticle.

Still another object of this invention is to provide apparatus fordispensing clean cotton cloth wiping towels or rags upon the insertioninto the apparatus of a like soiled towel and operating the apparatus.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide such dispensingapparatus which is operatable solely by me chemical means so that nodanger of explosion or fire occurs when the equipment is used todispense a clean towel on the insertion therein of a towel soiled withinflammable material.

Other objects andadvantages of the new dispensing apparatus of myinvention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon readingthis disclosure.-

Drawings accompany and are a part of this disclosure. Such drawingsdepict preferred specific embodiments of the new fabric articledispensing apparatus of my invention, particularly designed to dispensea cotton cloth towel upon the insertion therein of another cotton clothtowel and operating the mechanism, and it is to be understood that thedrawings are not to unduly limit the scope of my invention.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective outer view, with some inner mechanism outlinedthereon, of a preferred specific embodiment of the fabric articledispensing apparatus of my invention, particularly desirably used todispense towels.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view in cross sectionthrough the apparatus,showing the receiving member and dispensing member and upper controlmeans therewith in position just prior to operation to dispense a toweland just after a soiled towel has been inserted into the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation view in cross section through the apparatus,showing the receiving member, dispensing and upper control meanstherewith in position after a towel has been delivered and a soiledtowel has been taken all the way into the apparatus.

Fig. 4 is an elevation view of the lever control and actuating means ofthe apparatus in relation to the receiving and dispensing apparatus witha soiled towel on the receiving member having tripped the upper controlmeans.

Fig. 5 is an elevation view of the lever control and actuating means ofthe apparatus in relation to the receiving and dispensing apparatus withthe receiving member in fully operated position.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the end portion of thedispensing member of the apparatus having therewith lower control andoperating means.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the other end portion of the dispensingmember of the apparatus having operating means, and in the same relativeposition as in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation view in cross section of the apparatus of myinvention showing the lower control means in relation to the dispensingmember just after a clean towel has been delivered.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation view in cross section and partly cut awayshowing the towel chute detail in relation to the dispensing member.

Following are a discussion and description of my invention. Suchdiscussion and description are made with reference to the drawingswhereon the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same orsimilar parts or structure. The following discussion and description isof preferred specific embodiments of the new apparatus of my invention,and it is to be understood that such discussion and description is notto unduly limit the scope of my invention.

The towel dispensing apparatus of my invention is housed in a closedcabinet, and is operated to deliver a clean towel by inserting a soiledtowel therein through an upper opening covered by hood 11. The cabinethas an opening 13 through which a clean towel is delivered uponoperating the dispenser. Means project from the cabinet which areoperated after insertion of a soiled towel, and these means canconveniently be pedal 15 or an arm member operated by hand pressure. Iffor some reason the inserted soiled towel is not caught to allow foroperating my dispensing means, it passes through the cabinet meansthrough chute 17 and out through an opening in the front of the cabinetin the lower end of the chute. It has been found that either or bothsides of the cabinet can be made removable so that one can get into sameto inspect, repair, recharge with clean towels, remove soiled towels,etc. The lower and rear portions of the cabinet can conveniently be usedto store the soiled towels which are inserted in order to operate theapparatus.

An oscillatable receiving member 19 is rotatably mounted within thecabinet by means of a shaft 21 with which it turns. This oscillatablemember 19 has means to catch a cloth towel thereon, preferably a row ofteeth 23 on the face thereof, preferably as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 9.These teeth 23 catch a soiled towel 25 when dropped into the chutecovered by hood 11, when the receiving member 19 of the apparatus of myinvention is in normal at-rest position, the position shown in Figs. 1,2 and 8. The substantially semicircular drumshaped member 19 isoscillated back and forth by force exerted through a pulley line 27 anda pulley line 29 which is mounted on shaft 21 to turn same and in turnrotate member 19. A stop member 31 is fixedly mounted in the cabinet,and this stop 31 limits the rotation of member 19 in both directions ofrotation. Lip 33 of member 19 catches stop 31 upon rotation in onedirection, and the drum 19 itself catches stop 31 upon rotation in theother direction. My apparatus uniquely utilizes a distinctive curvatureof the face of the towel receiving drum 19 in this latter portion to aidin the operation of the control mechanism of my apparatus, as will beset forth hereinafter.

A dispensing roller member 35 is rotatably mounted in the cabinet bymeans of shaft 37. This roller 35 has means thereon to catch a fabrictowel, and I find that such is preferably a row of spaced teeth 39longitudinally disposed on the face thereof, five or six spaced teethhaving been found suitable. Force exerted through pulley line 27 and apulley 41 mounted to freely rotate on shaft 37 is used to rotate member35 when the springloaded pawl 43 pivotally mounted on pulley 41 catchesthe ratchet tooth and stop 45 fixed on roller 35. I have found itconvenient to use a small spring 47 fixed to pulley 41 by a pin to holdpawl 43 in engagement position with ratchet tooth 45. Thus, pulley 41turns dispensing roller 35 with it when turned in one direction, andrides free on shaft 37 of turning member 35 when pulley 41 is turned inthe opposite direction. Spring-loaded pawl 43 slides under stop 45 whenpulley 41 is turned in the last-named direction for repositioning toagain turn roller 35 when desired, provided roller 35 has dispensed atowel.

Pulley line 27 passes over a guide pulley 49 and is attached to pedal 15in one end. The other end of pulley line 27 is attached to a spiralspring 51 which is in turn attached to the cabinet means or anotherconvenient fixed member. When operating, pedal 15 is pushed downwardlyto extend pulley line 27 to operate the mechanism by rotating pulleys 29and 41, to in turn rotate oscillatable member 19 and to operatedispensing roller 35 with pawl 43 and ratchet tooth 45 in engagement,respectively, spring 51 is loaded, and upon release of pedal 15 pulleyline 27 is retracted by spring 51 to rotate pulleys 29 and 41 in theopposite direction, in turn rotating member 19 in the opposite directionand with pawl 43 and ratchet finger 45 out of engagement repositioningpulley 41 for subsequent similar rotation of roller 35, respectively.Upon pushing pedal 15 downwardly from its position shown in Figs. 2 and8, member 19 is rotated until lip 33 catches stop 31 which preventsfurther rotation of member 19, and member 35 is rotated to the cockedposition of Fig. 5 because ratchet finger 45 and pawl 43 are inengagement for and during rotation. The positions of the members afteroperation of pedal 15 are shown in Figs. 3 and 5, Fig. 5 in position todeliver a towel 52 and Fig. 3 in position just after delivery of thetowel to opening 13. The positions of Figs. 2 and 8 are referred to asat-rest position, and the position of member 19 shown in Figs. 3 and 5is referred to as the fully operated position. Figs. 6, 7 and 9 thenshow member 35 in normal at-rest position, as does Fig. 1 in regard tomember 19.

On the end of shaft 37 opposite the end thereof on which pulley 41 ismounted, is mounted an arm member 53 fixed to turn shaft 37 and in turnroller 35. A pitman 55 is pivotally connected to arm member 53 in oneend and to a spiral spring 57 in the other end, and spring 57 is fixedto the cabinet or another suitable stationary member. A mounting member59 having a bearing (not shown) for shaft 37 is used to mount theassembly within the cabinet so that arm 53, pitman 55 and spring 57 arefree to operate to rotate member 35 when desired. This roller 35rotating mechanism operates as follows. When pedal 15 is depressed fromthe position of Figs. 2 and 8 to rotate roller 35 to the position ofFig. 5, spring 57 is extended and pitman 55 moves to a past centerposition. Spring 57 is then loaded and would continue to rotate member35 except for stop member 45 attached to member 35 being caught and heldby the notch 61 in lever arm 63. Lever arm 63 is pivotally mounted inthe cabinet at point 64, and is urged out of contact with stop 45 byspiral spring 65 which is anchored to the cabinet at point 67. Whenmember 35 is held by such stop 45, it is in position to deliver to slot13 a clean towel which has been picked up on teeth* 39 during theturning of member 35-from the position of'Fig. 2 tothe position shown byFig. 5.

Inclined chute means 69 are mounted in the cabinet, and these chutemeans hold-and store a supply of folded, clean towels 52 which are to-bedispensed by the apparatus. I have found it desirable to fold the towelsonce with the fold at the bottom; as shown in Fig. 9. The stack oftowels 52 rests against roller 35 at the bottom of the stack thereof,and as the towels are removed from the stack by member 35, they movedown-the inclined chute 69. A weighting member 71 having wheel 73 whichrides on fixed track 75 supports the stack of towels 52 on the upper endthereof, and this weighting and supporting member 71 along with theforce of gravity moves the towels down chute 69; In'connection herewith,arm 77 with its end hook ispreferably' used to lock the mechanism whenthe supply of clean towels 52 is exhausted. Arm member 77 is pivotallymounted by bracket means 79 which is in turn mounted on towel guidemeans 81. A weight 83 and trigger 85"opposite thereto are mounted topivot with arm 77. Wheel 73 contacts trigger 85 when chute 69 is emptyof towels to force the hook of arm 77 .into notch 87' in pulley 29 tohold said pulley from turning. Towel guide 81 is mounted in the cabinet,preferably as shown, and guides the towel being dispensed so that itsedge is deposited in cabinet opening 13, thereby allowing the apparatusoperator to pull the entire towel out of the dispenser and from incontact with teeth 39 of member 35.

The control means for my dispensing apparatus operates to allow roller35 to'delive'r a clean towel to opening 13 of the cabinet upon theoperation of receiving member 19 with a soiled'towel *caught thereonbythe row of teeth 23, the towel having been'inserted into the upper endof the chute covered by hood 11. As receiving member 19' is rotated fromthe position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 5, the towelfirst passes under fixed protecting shield 89 which preferably has a rowof teeth on the lower edge thereof to prevent pulling back a towel whichhas passed under'shield 89while on member 19, that is, a soiled towel 25put into the machine and held by the end thereof or by somethingattached to'the towel. This prevents operation of the dispensingapparatus of my invention more than once with the same soiled towel.After the towel passes under shield member 89, it contacts lever armmember 91 to raise same and pivot same and shaft 92 on which it ismounted. Arm member 91 in the absence of a towel on member 19 preferablyrides on attack portion on the curved face portion of the member. Uponthe pivoting of arm member 91 by contact with towel25, arm member 93,which is mounted on shaft 92 to turn therewith, is pivoted from itsposition shown in Pig. 8. Spring 95 which is fixed at point 95A to thecabinet is in tension to urge lever 91 into contact with member 19. Inaddition, spring 95 forces lever 93 to which it is attached as lever 91directs. Scissor-like arms 97 which are pivoted at point 99 and mountedat this point in the cabinet are forced together by spring 101, and suchform the catch means for lever 103 which is pivotally mounted in thecabinet at point 105. Arms 97 have oppositely disposed notches 107therein which catch projections 109 on lever 103, the notches 107 andarms 97 being separate-acting and the notch on the left-hand arm 97being just slightly higher so that when lever 103 is released from theright-hand notch it moves up slightly and is caught by the left-handnotch. This prevents interference with the right-hand notch when its arm97 is released. Upon pivot of arm 93 by raising'of arm 91, theright-hand arm 97 is forced open, releasing lever 103. See Fig. 4. Lever103 moves up and is caught in notch 107 in the left-hand arm 97 becausespring 65' in tension pivots lever 63 and in turn lever member 111' withwhich it is in contact by projectiiig arm 1'13. Lever member 111 ispivotally mounted in the" cabinet byshaft 115 Connecting r'od'1f17'ispivotally connected to lever members 103 and 111 and is the means bywhich lever s3 is released from holding roller 35 by stop 45 in relationto the catch means 9 7 and in turn the position of arm 91. This occursonly when a towel 256s takenall the way into the apparatus, and botharms 97' have released lever 103. After towel 25 has passed under arm91, the arm falls back into contact with member 19 and'spring 1'01 movesthe righthand arm 97' back to its at-rest position as it does arm 93.However, the right-hand notch 107 does'not catch lever 103' because ithas moved up slightly and out of position, but being held by left-handnotch 107. When member 1 9' is turned all the way over until lip 33contacts stop 31; the arm member 91 is lowered past its normal positionas a result in the increased curvature of the face and track ofreceiving drum 19 for member 91. This allows spring 95 to pivot arm 93to open lefthand arm 97 to in turn' c'ompletely release lever 1 03,lever 111 and lever 63. Normal position for arm 91 is shown in Fig. 2'.The positions of arm member 91 in normal position and for the passing oftowel 25 there"- under are shown'in dotted lines on Fig. 3, the lowerdotted line position of arm 91 being the normal position'when the armrideson the face of member 19 during the greater portion of its traveland the upper dotted line position of arm 91 being its elevated positionwhen a towel 25 is passing under arm 91, and when member 19 is turnedall the way over the position of arm 91 is shown in solid lineson Fig.3; and arm member 91 is shown in dotted lines when atowel is passedthereunder on Fig; 4, and in dotted lines in the all the way overposition on Fig; 5. Upon complete release of lever" 103 spring 65 movesit out of catch relation, by pivoting lever 63 and in turn lever member111* and' further in turn the lever 103 throughconnecting rod 117. Thepivoting of lever 63 moves notch 61 upwardly and out of contact withstop 45 thus releasing roller 35 for turning by retraction of spring 57,spring 57 having been loaded during the rota} tion of'receiving member19 from the position of Fig. 2 to the position of Fig. 5; As one skilledin the art can see,member 35 can be rotated to cocked position prior tothe towel delivery position of Fig. 5 and spring 57 loaded without atowel in contact with member 19 to operate arm 91; But, in order tooperate the control mechanism to release stop 45 and thus release roller35 for delivery of a towel 52 subsequently, soiled towel 25 must betaken into the apparatus by member 19th operatearm91 and in turn releaselever 103.

To reset the control mechanism, 1 preferably employ a cam 119 mounted onshaft 37 to turn therewith, and upon rotation of roller 35 to deliver atowel 52 from chute 69 to opening 13, that is from the position of Fig.5' to the position of Figs. 3 and 6, this cam contacts the end portionof lever member 111 opposite the portion having projection 113 to pivotmember 111 to result in moving lever 103 down to catch position relativeto arms 97 and and moving lever 63 down to catch position relative tostop 45.

The operation of the preferred specific embodiment of the apparatus ofmy invention as shown in the drawings is as follows. The person desiringa clean towel inserts-a soiled towel into the cabinet through hood 11,waiting a sufficient time for the towel 25 to fall onto the receivingdrum 19 where it is caught by teeth 23. Next, the pedal 15 is pusheddownwardly. This extends pulley line 27' and turns pulleys 29 and 41.Towel 25 is grasped firmly by teeth 23 as drum 19 begins to rotate. iftowel 25, or any other object, is not caught by teeth 23, it will falldownwardly and come to rest at the bottom of chute 17 where it can beremoved through the opening in the cabinet. The soiled towel can then bereinserted for operation of the apparatus.

Towel 25 being caught on teeth 23 passes under member 89 and contactsarm member 91- to raise samer in turn pivots arm 93 to pivot right-handmember 97 and partially release lever 103. The notch in member 111allows slight movement upwardly without contact with cam 119. See Fig.6. After towel 25 passes under feeler arm 91, the arm falls back to reston the outer edge of the face of receiving drum 19, aided in this by theaction of spring 95. Member 19 continues to rotate until lip 33 contactsstop 31 at which time soiled towel 25 drops from member 19 into thestorage space for same in the bottom of the cabinet. At this time, pedalis at the bottom of its travel, and feeler arm 91 falls downward furtherdue to the increased curvature of the face of the rim of member 19. Thisaction of arm 91 results in pivot of arm 93 to completely release lever105, and as one skilled in the art can see, this lever 103 can only bereleased completely upon pressing member 15 completely down, andproviding towel has passed completely under arm 91. Lever 63 is thenreleased from stop 45 by action of spring 65.

During the intake the soiled towel 25 on receiving member 19 as setforth hereinbefore, the dispensing mechanism operates as follows. Aspedal 15 is depressed pulley line 27 extends to turn pulley 41 and inturn to rotate roller with ratchet 45 and pawl 43 in engagement. Uponthe turning of roller 35, spring 57 is extended by pitman as arm 53turns with roller 35. The pitman pivot point passes up and past thecenter line of shaft 37. Spring 57 will then recoil to continue torotate roller 35 in the same direction until stop 45' comes in contactwith notch 61 in lever 63. Since at this time pedal 15 is fullydepressed, and lever 103 is completely released, spring 65 will pivotlever 63 to move notch 61 out of the way. Upon such, roller 35 isreleased, and spring 57 recoils to rotate roller 35. During the cycle ofrotation of roller 35, the teeth 39 pick up a clean towel 52 from thelower end of chute 69 and pull the clean towel on the roller past theguide 81, and an edge of the towel is placed in opening 13 in thecabinet. The person using the device then can grasp the end of the toweland pull it out of the cabinet. Also, during completion of the rotationcycle of roller 35, cam 119 fixed on shaft 37 contacts member 111 topivot same and reset levers 103 and 63. They will then remain so untilactuated by another towel on member 19 passing under feeler arm 91. Inrotation of roller 35 to operating position stop 45 moves overspringloaded pawl 43.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, various modifications ofthis invention can be made, or followed, in the light of this disclosureand discussion, without departing from the spirit or scope of thedisclosure or from the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. Mechanically operated apparatus for dispensing clean fabric towelstherefrom one at a time upon inserting a soiled fabric towel into saidapparatus, which comprises, in combination: cabinet means; a chutewithin said cabinet means, said cabinet having an opening into an upperend portion of said chute to receive an inserted soiled towel and anopening into a lower end portion of said chute to receive a returnedsoiled towel; and oscillatable member rotatably mounted and a fixed stoptherefor mounted in said cabinet, said oscillatable member having acurved face portion extending within the chute and teeth adapted tocatch a soiled towel inserted into said chute when said member is innormal at-rest position, a portion of said oscillatable member adaptedto contact said stop to prevent rotation of said member in one directionand position said teeth to receive said towel, and another portion ofsaid oscillatable member opposite said last-named portion adapted tocontact said stop to prevent rotation of said member past a desiredpoint in the other direction; an inclined chute within said cabinetmeans adapted to hold a stack of clean towels; track supportedsupporting and weighting means adapted, along with the force of gravity,to move said towels down said inclined chute as towels are removed fromsaid stack at the lower end portion thereof; an elongated cylindricalmember rotatably mounted in said cabinet means at the lower end of saidinclined chute with its longitudinal axis transverse the longitudinalaxis of said inclined chute, said cylindrical member having teeth on theface thereof and a stop and ratchet tooth member on one end thereof andbeing adapted to support and retain said towels in said inclined chuteand upon rotation to pick up a towel from the lower end of said stack onsaid teeth and deliver same to an opening in said cabinet means; a firstpulley mounted and disposed to turn with and rotate said oscillatablemember; a second pulley freely mounted on the shaft of said cylindricalmember at said end adapted to turn with and rotate said member to acooked position and to rotate free of said member; pawl means mounted onsaid second pulley adapted to engaged said ratchet tooth member on theend of said cylindrical member to turn said member to said cockedposition with said pulley when it is turned in one direction, to bedisengaged from said cylindrical member when said pulley is turned inthe other direction and to reengage in cylindrical member turningposition upon turning said pulley in its last-named direction ofturning; an operating member projecting from said cabinet means; apulley line connected in one end portion to said operating member,passing first over said first pulley, second over said second pulley andhaving a spiral spring in its other end portion, the outer end portionof said spring being fixed, said operating member being adapted toextend said pulley line upon operation to rotate said oscillatablemember and to turn said cylindrical member to said cocked position, andsaid spring portion of said pulley line being adapted to retract saidpulley line and rotate said oscillatable member back to said normalposition; a fixed spiral spring swivelly attached to said cylindricalmember at the other end on the outer edge thereof, said spring adaptedto be extended upon rotation of said member to said cocked position andto continue to rotate said member to pick up and deliver a clean towelfrom said stack upon retraction of said spring when said cylindricalmember is released from said cocked position; catch means having a pairof scissor-like arm members pivotally mounted in their inner endportions in said cabinet means and spring loaded to urge said arms toclosed position, the inner edges of said scissorlike arms havingoppositely disposed notches therein; a first lever member pivotallymounted in one end portion in said cabinet means, projecting betweensaid scissor-like arm members and having a projection on each side of anopposite end portion adapted to catch said arms in said notches when inposition to do so; other arm member means attached to a shaft pivotallymounted in said cabinet means, one outer end portion of said arm membermeans contacting and riding on said curved face portion of saidoscillatable member, another outer end portion projecting between saidscissorlike arm members and adapted to force same apart upon pivot ofsaid arm member means and having another outer end portion with spiralspring means attached thereto adapted to urge said first two-named endportions into contact with said curved face portion and saidscissor-like arm members, respectively, said arm member means and curvedface portion of said oscillatable member being positioned and adapted sothat said first-named end portion of said arm member means is raised bythe passage of a soiled towel thereunder upon rotation of saidoscillatable member having same and to thereupon release said firstlever arm from one notch of said scissor-like arm members; a secondlever member pivotally mounted in one end portion in said cabinet means,and having a notch in a middle portion adapted aecttosi to catch andhold said cylindrical member in said cocked position by said stop memberthereon and having an anchored spring mounted on the other end thereofurging said notch out of contact with said stop member; a third levermember pivotally mounted in a middle portion in said cabinet means andhaving an outer portion contacting said second lever member to urge saidnotch into position to catch said stop; a fourth lever member pivotal-1yconnected to said first lever member in a middle portion thereof andsaid third lever member in an outer portion thereof adapted to pivotsaid third lever member to release said second lever member uponlowering of said first named arm member portion after said passage ofsaid soiled towel there'- under to release said first lever member fromthe other notch of said scissor-like members, so that said springattached to said cylindrical member can act to rotate said member; a cammounted to turn with said cylin= drical member adapted to Contact saidthird level mem ber in an outer portion thereof after rotation of saidcylindrical member from said cocked position to pivot same to move saidfirst lever member into position to be held by said scissor-like armmembers and to move said second lever member into position to catch saidstop member on said cylindrical member; means actuatable by said tracksupported weighting means adapted to lock said oscillatable memberagainst rotation when said clean towels are exhausted; said apparatusadapted to position for hand withdrawal from said cabinet means a cleantowel upon inserting a soiled towel into the upper end portion of saidfirst-named chute and operating said operating member; and said cabinetmeans having a compartment for receiving and storing inserted soiledtowels.

2. Mechanically operated apparatus for dispensing a fabric articletherefrom upon inserting a similar fabric article into such apparatus,which comprises, in combination: cabinet means; first chute means withinsaid cabinet means, said cabinet having openings into the upper end andlower end portions of said chute means; an oscillatable member rotatablymounted in said cabinet means; stop means mounted in said cabinetadapted to prevent rotation of said oscillatable member past a desiredpoint in either direction of rotation; said oscillataole member having acurved face portion extending within the chute and having means adaptedto catch a fabric article inserted into said chute means when saidmember is in normal at-rest position; second chute means within saidcabinet means adapted to hold a stack r ber; second pulley means adaptedto turn with and rotate said roller to a cocked position and to rotatefree of said roller; means adapted to engage said second pulley meansand said roller to rotate said roller to said cocked position, torelease said roller from turning with said pulley when said pulley isturned in the other direction and to reengage said pulley and roller inposition to rotate said roller to said cocked position; means with whichto operate said apparatus adapted to be actuated from outside saidcabinet means; a pulley line connected in one end portion to saidapparatus operating means, said pulley line passing over said firstpulley means and second pulley means and having spring means attached toits other end portion, said apparatus operating means upon operationbeing adapted to extend said pulley line to rotate said oscillatable i0nieinberand to turn said roller is said cocked position, and said sprinmeans I being adapted to retract said pulley line to rotate, saidoscillatable member back to its normal position; spring means attachedto said roller, said spring means adapted to be extended upon saidrotation of said roller to said cocked position and to rotate saidroller to deliver a fabric article from said stack of same uponretraction of said spring when said roller is released from said cockedposition; first lever means mounted in said cabinet means; catch meansmounted in said cabinet means, said catch means hav ing two separateacting means each adapted to catch and hold said first lever means andsaid lever means being released upon release of both; arm member meanspivotally mounted'in said cabinet means, one end portion of said armmember riding on said curved face portion of said oscillatable memberand another end portion being adapted to operate said catch means torelease said first lever means upon pivot of said arm member and havingmeans therewith adapted to urge said arm member means into contact withsaid o's'eil lat'ab'le' member; said arm member means and curved faceportion of said oscillatable member being adapted so that saidfirst-named arm member portion is raised by the passage of a fabricarticle thereunder upon rota tion of said oscillatable member havingsame thereon and so that the first of said separate acting catch meanshas released said first lever means after such passage; second levermeans mounted in said cabinet means having catch means therewith adaptedto catch and hold said roller in said cocked position and means to urgesaid lever means out of position to catch said roller; third lever meansmounted in said cabinet means adapted to hold said second lever means inposition to hold said roller in said cocked position; fourth lever meansconnected to said first and third lever means adapted to operate saidsecond lever means to release said roller from said cocked position uponlowering of said firstnamed arm member portion after passage of saidfabric article thereunder to release said first lever member from thesecond of said separate acting catch means so that said roller canrotate to deliver said fabric article to said opening in said cabinetmeans; cam means operatable upon rotation of said roller from saidcocked position adapted to operate said third lever means to in turnreposition said first lever means in position to be caught and held byboth of said separate acting means of said catch means and to repositionsaid second lever means to catch and hold said roller in cockedposition; said dispensing apparatus adapted to position for handwithdrawal from said cabinet means a fabric article upon insertinganother fabric article into the upper end portion of said first-namedchute and actuating said apparatus operating means; and said cabinetmeans having a compartment for storing said inserted fabric articles.

3. Mechanically operated apparatus for dispensing fabric articles, whichcomprises, in combination: chute means; an oscillatable member having aportion extending into said chute means and rotatably mounted; stopmeans adapted to prevent rotation of said oscillatable member past adesired point in either direction of rotation; said oscillatable memberhaving guide means therewith and means adapted to catch a fabric articlein sertcd into said chute means when said member is in at-rest position;means adapted to hold a stack of fabric articles; a dispensing memberhaving means to grasp a fabric article and being adapted upon operationto pick up a fabric article from the lower end portion of said stack ofsame and deliver such article; pulley means with said oscillatablemember and said dispensing mem-- ber adapted to rotate said oscillatablemember in one direction and to turn said dispensing member into cockedposition and to rotate said oscillatable member in the oppositedirection while said dispensing member is maintained in said cockedposition by other means; means with said dispensing member adapted to beloaded upon said turning of said dispensing member to said cockedposition and to turn said dispensing member to deliver a fabric articlefrom said stack upon unloading of said means when said dispensing memberis released from said cocked position; first lever means; catch meansadapted to catch and hold said first lever means; second lever meansengageable with said guide means on said oscillatable member and adaptedto partially release said first lever means from said catch means uponpivot of said second lever means as a result of contact therewith by afabric article on said oscillatable member during operation of saidmember; third lever means adapted to hold said dispensing member in saidcocked position; other lever means operable by action of said firstlever means upon complete release from said catch means adapted tooperate said third lever means to release said dispensing member uponpassage of said fabric article from in contact with said second levermeans; means operatable upon turning of said dispensing member from saidcocked position adapted to reset said first and third lever means;operating means adapted to operate said pulley means; and said apparatusadapted to deliver a fabric article from said stack of same uponinserting another fabric article into said chute and actuating saidoperating means.

4. Apparatus for dispensing fabric articles, which comprises, incombination, a receiving member having means adapted to catch a fabricarticle contacted therewith, a dispensing member having means to removea fabric article from a stack of same upon operating said dispensingmember, operating means adapted to operate said receiving member andsaid dispensing member, first lever means, catch means adapted to catchand hold said first lever means, second lever means operatively engagingsaid receiving member and adapted to partially release said first levermeans from said catch means upon operation of said second lever means asa result of contact with a fabric article on said receiving memberduring operation of same, third lever means adapted to hold saiddispensing member in releasable position, and other lever meansoperatable upon action of said first lever means upon complete releasefrom said catch means adapted to operate said third lever means torelease said dispensing member upon passage of said fabric article fromin contact with said second lever means, and said apparatus adapted toremove a fabric article from a stack of same upon placing another fabricarticle on said receiving member and operating said apparatus.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,471,055 Asbill May 24, 1949 2,572,121 Dosberg Oct. 23, 1951 2,653,693Dosberg Sept. 29, 1953 2,713,931 Russell July 26, 1955

